This is the weblog of the Old Dominion Military Society (ODMS). It is intended to be a listing of news items related to game announcements, meeting recaps, monthly overviews, convention AARs, campaign postings, etc. In short, the news items of record for our wargaming club.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Game Ideas - Guns Of August, part 3

I now have the terrain elevations, courtesy of a quick google search for topographical maps of Apache Pass. I did not record the name of the site where I found them, but it was nice because it let you pinpoint landmarks on the satellite image.

Eight (8) elevations should make Outlook Ridge (the first part of it is what looks like a hill here, extending off the righthand side of the table, above the spring) a pretty impressive elevation, all the more so when the players see that it will be made from 2" thick insulation sheets and 16" tall.

For terrain that I plan to keep, I like to use the high density foam (blue or pink), but for this project I am using beadboard - the styrofoam that breaks into little beads when you break it. That cuts way down on cost because the beadboard is about 1/4 of the price of the high density foam (making it must less painful to part with the terrain at the end of the convention).

I'm still researching the vegetation, because it is clear to me that I am going to need a lot of it to get the look right. So far, I have a few bags of Woodland scenics 3/4" to 2" tall trees that will become passable mesquite trees with a bit of work and a very modest amount of foliage, but I want to add some other types of vegetation, rocks, etc. to get the look right.

I'm also still thinking about how to do the dry wash. A latex riverbed filled in with sand and vegetation seems like the right way to go on it, with one or two pieces to make it (a significant limiting factor is the availability of a large enough sheet of glass to serve as the bottom of the mold for the latex pour.

The next post should have some photos of the terrain as I move this project from the PC to the garage and start cutting the beadboard for the elevations.